Most championship teams have an ability to get easy baskets which we don’t. Whether it’s having a strong post game (Duncan, Shaq, Kareem, Worthy, etc.)or someone who will take it to the rim and consistently get baskets and / or foul calls (Wade, Ginobilli, Kobe, etc.). That said, we most resemble the Dallas team of two finals ago (which was up 2-0 and was a half away from being up 3-0.) Nowitski was their big scorer/star, more of a perimeter scorer, less a post scorer, similar to KG. They also had Howard, Stackhouse and Terry for scoring and were a fast team which gave the Spurs fits. The problem with us now is that we don’t have enough scoring options anymore since Allen has gone into the tank. Lebron is making it hard for Pierce to go off big offensively so it’s left to KG who can’t do it alone. Our defense is fine. We are coming up short on offense.

I am stuck in southern Chile this week and best I could do was WEEI. Max was as down on the stars (ex KG) as that company man could dare to be, esp Pierce. Re Doc, he cannot shoot for Ray and Pierce. My heart is with the Cs but my money would be on Lebron in Game 7 vs Allen/Pierce. Re Doc, I dont know what happened to Leon but at least he deep sixed Sam for Eddie. Re Doc, he is giving Perk his chance as our starter but Perk is terrible.
If they take this Game 7 though I think they have weathered their worst and Detroit will be easier not harder. But LeBron has no choke collar on him going into 7 and Pierce and Allen do.
Max didn’t go into it but what happened to Rondo. Did they step up thier defense

They’ve had their opportunities and—albeit without a superior coach—they have too often have looked too ragged. The Big 3 haven’t been big enough. Rondo is still maturing into consistency and the rest of the team are nice B performers. A great regular season team led by a few players who are individually ‘due’ for a championship does not necessarily make a championship team.

wwe’re one game away from the ec finals. let’s have this discussion if we lose a series.i expect us to get to the eastern conference finals and then it’s up for grabs with detroit. we’ve played horribly on the road and ray allen is horrible. sooner or later you have to believe that ray allen will get going and that we’ll win a game on the road, but everyone has to play better

Roy nailed it: a championship level roster with a mediocre coach.

We’re definitely a Championship level team.

We’re just not playing like one and it has a lot to do with the road games and the lack of calls.

Are they Championship quality? They may be but I don’t think they even know. They are learning that playoff basketball is totaly different than the regular season and they are learning to play playoff basketball on the fly with only a season together – Rome seems likes a long time ago but in terms of a team learning to play together its not a long time at all. I think their defense has been there most of the series – its the offense that worries me. I thought the offense was good at times last night but they missed wide open jump shots. Also not scoring a hoop on two coonsectutive possessions when the score was 65-61 killed them. Hey, they didn’t give up and fought to the end. I hate to say it but maybe Rick Pitino was right – we should just enjoy the ride (however bumpy it has been). I love them tomorrow in Game 7. Bring on Detriot

The team needs to execute on offense.. the talent is there its just not being 100% effectively utilized!

We are defensively a Championship caliber team. Offensively we are not right now, however we WERE back the first 2/3rds of this season. Then we messed with the rotation and chemistry and now we can’t buy a basket consistently. We USED to pass the ball around the floor to get wide open shots like the ball was a hot potato. Now we try to force things and win it 1-5. Some of that blame goes to Doc. Some of it to Danny for messing with things. Some goes to the players.

If I were in charge we would watch tapes from the time when we were absolutely crushing teams so we could all see the difference.

At the beginning of the season, I thought this team could go deep into the playoffs. Then somewhere in Texas I was deceived into thinking this was a championship level team. There is a gaping problem here – they seem to lose their composure. One thing Larry Bird @ Co. had going for them – the tougher the game was, the colder and tougher they got. Emotion drives this team, not cold, devious, murderous lack of emotion. That is a reflection of a “player’s” coach. This team is built on everyone loving each other, not cold killer instinct. So, some of the players – the Suspect Three – overheat and loose their cool. I watched KG make some serious stupid fundamental errors at the end of the game. When the team gets an early lead, and can almost coast through the 4th period they win. I have not seen cool confidence during crunch time in these playoffs.

Enough to make the championship yes. Enough to win it, doubtful.

The Lakers have more then us and probably the Spurs also. Both are far more efficient on the offensive end and have true go to players in crunch time.

I may be alone on this, but this team came together way earlier then I would have expected. Perk and Rondo are still progressing and so is Davis and Powe. Pierce and Garnett still have good years ahead. Not sure of Ray Allen, but it can’t be any worse then what he is doing now. I have faith Danny can do better in the backup center department next year. Once again we can’t do any worse then the 5 games we got this year out of our veteran backup. The great regular season probably clouded our vision and raised expectations too quickly, but this experience will serve us in the future.

Close to a championship caliber team — unfortunately being coached by Mr. Nice Guy who is one of the five worst coaches in the league. The team does not have a real center and the point guard is stil learning. I really hope they find a big man this summer and Perk either becomes the backup or is gone.

No.

Not right now. They haven’t played enought play off games together. They need the home crowd yelling defense in their ears to remind them what got them to where they are. Paul Pierce has not played mentally tough in a full game. It seemed like KG was rushing half the shots he took in the first four games of the Atlanta series. They have spent a significant part of each road game “fighting themselves.” And yet – they are very definitely a potential champion. However I am convinced that if they do win the championship they will have to play 28 playoff games to do it. They are getting there. Even in last nights loss I saw signs of the toughness they will need to win it all. They just haven’t played enough games together like the last two to be consistently mentally tough.
I really do think home fans have helped keep the team focused on what they have to do to win. I did my best rooting for them in the stands in games one and five. I can’t be there tomorrow. So some other fans are going to have to “bring them home.”

Nope

Then again I didn’t think it was a championship caliber team to start the season, during the season, or at the end of the regular season …. so nothing has changed there.

They didn’t execute well under pressure in the regular season. They were gutting close games out instead of learning/understanding how to get good shots and how to execute their offense under pressure against good opponents. I thought that was going to kill them come playoff time when they ran against a club good enough to take advantage of it which they most definitely would.

I never expected their performance to be this lob-sided though. I thought their inability to execute at then end of games in the regular season would be more in line with the postseason. Not needlessly losing three games to a non-playoff caliber team. I thought the Cavs would go seven before the series started so not too surprised there, but the manner of the seven games has been shocking.

The first two rounds haven’t convinced me this team is worse than I thought or less than I thought. Right now it’s just some wierd anomaly. If they win Game Seven I’d expect them to go on and play better the rest of the way, probably beating Detroit, but falling short in the finals.

We are not a championship level team. We have a talented bunch but i’am not sure if they can ever handle big time pressure. Beginning of last game, kept passing the ball around and got easy baskets. Played good defense throuought the game. Then cleveland starts to make some runs and we start playing a two man offensive game.

Either the team can’t handle it or the coach is does not have enough presence to get the team to handle the pressure

Like i said i think it might not be out of the question we win it all via home games. I actually like to see the celts lose a home game if we make it to next series to get them to crank their level of play at the road

Championship-level talent. Yes.

Championship-level experience together? No. [Watch what happens with SA and NO in game 7]

Championship-level coaching? No – although talent and experience can overcome this. Just not with this team this year.

Ainge should have been coaching this team with Thibodeau at the beginning of the season.

The current coach should have been in the broadcast booth or in the stands watching his kids games. Instead, Doc is venting to his buddys in the broadcast booths about his players.

Even with that. Garnett, for the first time in the playoffs seemed to assert himself on the road in the fourth quarter in the 6th game of the second round of the playoffs. Pierce can’t do this alone. Especially when he won’t get the calls he’s used to getting because of the person guarding him.

This appears to be a perfect regular season roster. But when the playoffs come around and the fourth quarter on the road comes around, the perfect regular season roster looks like Paul Pierce and a bunch of reluctant role players.

When your best and highest paid player is in the paint and deferring to the 35th selection in the NBA draft, who makes about as much in a year as your best player makes in 3 games, in the fourth quarter of the playoffs you do not have championship level talent.

Tallpaul, there is no talent that can overcome an inept coach.

Yep, Danny would have coached this team handily. Of course, no one would ever had let him live it down if he’d pulled a Riley.

The team struggles on the road, no doubt. It has, of late, not played well. Both if it’s primary offensive weapons (Garnett is it’s primary defensive stopper, not it’s go-to scorer) have had difficulties. The bench has struggled more than expected, and at times has been completely ineffective.

And yet here they are, 3-3 in the EC semis against a team that is playing as well as it has all season (Lebron James is not shooting well, but is playing very well), and the C’s, depsite 3 quarters of frustrating play were STILL in the game to the very last.

Any other team would have been eliminated. If Detroit had been struggeling like this the series would be over, if Cleveland were struggeling like this the series would be over. The Celtics are still fighting.

Remember back to the 85’-’86 run. That team was not undefeated at home (as this team is) and it in no way struggled, or faced as many slumps as this team has. The fact that this team is still competing says volumes.

It’s disturbing how fans criticize the team for not withstanding adversity, when you read the boards and comments and see fans lashing out at players and coaches because we’re in the middle of an exciting series.

Our team matters.

Our team is undefeated at home in the playoffs.

Lebron James is as amazing player as we have ever seen. Cleveland is the defending EC Champs. We’re tied 3-3 with a solid team and headed home for a great game 7!
 
Sunday is going to be an exciting game (understatement of the season).

This time last year, we would have traded anything to be in the middle of a 7 game series in the playoffs with Championship hopes as opposed to performing voodoo rituals over pingpong balls.

This is a great time to be a Celtics fan.

It’s disturbing how fans criticize the team for not withstanding adversity, when you read the boards and comments and see fans lashing out at players and coaches because we’re in the middle of an exciting series.

I meant to add, “it’s the fans that can’t handle a little adversity.”

You get the sence that as soon as they loose a home game, say one of the first two verses detroit (I think they will win tommorow) it is as good as over. As the season started and we saw how good the defence was I began to believe that they would be able to overcome a night or two when the jumpers were not going down. Being a jump shooting team has always been a major concern. I also thought that the players would be good enough to overcome Doc’s mistakes. This team does not take advantage of matchups Ray should be pounding Wally, KG has passed out when he was one on one with the long haired guy. You don’t get the sence that anyone is dying to get the ball during crunch time the way someone like Kobe does. In the heat of it KG reminds me of Chris Webber we wants to defer. Championship teams deal with the swings in the game better. I agree with some from above, we have the roster but something is missing. They won’t win a championship this year for certain. I would love to be wrong about that.

Why should Ray be pounding Wally? Wally is an underrated defender who consistently has decent position defensively. Unlike Rivers, Wally’s coaches this season haven’t overplayed him. So the difference is Wally looks fresh. Allen clearly looks worn out. Wally also has a few inches on him.

We shouldn’t forget all of the blowout games that Ray played 40 minutes in after recovering from off season surgeries. Totally inexcusable. It’s clearly caught up to Ray in the playoffs.

The seperation between the remaining teams:

If I were choosing a coach, Rivers would be an into the stratosphere distant last. Popovich, Brown, (holding my nose) Jackson, Scott, Saunders————————————————— Rivers.

Brown is an extremely underrated coach. He took a horrible defensive team and made them a solid defensive team without a major roster change.

Also, who do we have to take over a playoff game in the fourth quarter?

LA: Bryant / Gasol
NO: Paul
Cle: The messiah
SA: Duncan, Ginobili, Parker
Det: Billups, Wallace, Jefferson
Bos: ??? Pierce?

It comes down to a couple of things: Inability to execute on the road and wildly inconsistent play – from Rondo, who had to be benched Friday night to avoid a blowout, to Pierce, Allen and Garnett.

The recipe for this team to win is pretty basic: Their ability to do it night in and night out isn’t.

And until the consistency swings level out, it’s going to be tough to win a title.

has it sunk in for anyone that this magical season for the Celtics is most likely to end with Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers raising the trophy? Has anyone really thought about that yet?

finkelskyhook, who is Jefferson on the Pistons? I’m assuming you meant Hamilton?

and LarBrd33, for me, that possibility has sunk in- and I’m really uneasy. If the Celts can’t beat the Lakers in the Finals and Detroit could, I rather Detroit beats us than take the chance of us losing to the Lakers. Obviously it doesn’t work that way. Here’s hoping San Antonio or New Orleans can knock them out so this doesn’t become an issue.

The Lakers don’t defend, and they can be defended. They are hardly invincible.

LarBrd33, I have been thinking a lot about that. It has always been true for me that my first wish for every NBA season is a Celtics championship. But, a close second wish is for the Lakers to NOT win a championship. A disturbing twist of fate (not unlike the Patriots debacle) has occurred since Chris Wallace handed the Lakers a chance at another championship. It looked at one time like the C’s were the team to beat in the NBA and the Lakers were headed for a 5 or 6 seed. Now, the Lakers are the favorite with the C’s needing a victory to stay in the tounament. Ughh! It can’t get any worse than this. C’s do not look championship calibre to me, but I am still wishing. I am allowing myself to be deluded into believing that the Pistons will be an easier match-up than the Cavs.

Tmcdon,

great points! this is fun, even though we are venting. It beats the lottery any day of the week. I’m glad we are where we are.

It’s not the coach, people, it’s the players. I’ve said it since the beginning. The Celts will never win a title or an Eastern Conference with a second-year point guard. Secondly, outside of Garnett, the bigs are below average players.

Doc’s best hope at this point is to play small ball and spread the floor against the Cavaliers big men. Make them guard a smaller shooter. It’s not as if the Celtics are holding their own on the boards, so why bother playing Perkins, Baby, PJ etc?

And how many people would reverse that trade with the Sonics if they had the chance? Wally is outplaying Ray Allen by more than a little. Delonte looks very solid. And Jeff Green would be nice to bring along for youth rather than Baby.

Lemon, those are good points. I would love seeing Eddie & Rondo play together. Without Allen though, no KG.

I think this team is a “work in progress”, and they could progress to championship caliber before they loose a series. While they are being pushed and tested, they have not yet lost. But as has been said, they may have to live through 28 games. This will clearly not be the same team coming out of the playoffs, as the one that went in. They will know who they are.